Stevens: Dazed and Confused

Posted on July 1, 2006 - 5:27pm.

from: USA Today

By Angela Gunn

Dazed and confused

There's just so much doublespeak in here I'm not sure where to begin, but my personal highlights from the audio of Alaska senator Ted Stevens' speech yesterday re Net neutrality are:

- "Local to local connections across the country" -- please explain what that means, someone?
- "An internet was sent by my staff..." -- ummm...
- "We don't know enough to turn the Net into a two-tier system, which is exactly what Net neutrality would do" -- Now I do know what that is. It's a lie. And he repeats it later in the speech, so it's not just rambling out of context.
- "We're using the Internet for personal communication. We're not using it for commercial purposes." Millions of small businesses, from eBay sellers to bloggers picking up ad revenue to designers to iTunes to millions of businesses, want some of what he's smoking.

The movie rant is also not to be missed, though you're going to need a scorecard. So did Stevens, as it's painfully clear that he's reiterating something a staff member told him, or one of his grandkids perhaps.

This guy knows less about the Net than your average eight-year-old, but he's happy to cripple it for you. Alaskans, why do you send this guy to Washington to represent you?

( categories: Senate S.2686 )